Archives for January 1, 2019

‘“It was my goal to learn and grow as much as possible,” Allen said Monday, as the Bills cleaned out their lockers and headed for home. “I thought I did a pretty good job with that, being on the field with this team, learning from the coaches that I’ve learned from and the guys that have been in the quarterback room with me. I think I’ve grown a tremendous amount.”’

‘“Now that this day’s here, it’s reality,” right guard John Miller said, staring at the brown box next to him overstuffed with his belongings. “And so you’ve got to pack up. That’s just the nature of the beast. That’s just the business.”’

‘”I think knowing the job of the quarterback I kind of respected and appreciated at more watching a guy like Derek [Anderson] and a guy like Matt [Barkley] to come in and be a professional and come in and really kind of transform this team,” Allen said in mid-December. “I definitely think that we were a different team before Derek got here and the presence that he’s had in our locker room and on our offense has been tremendous. Then, Matt comes in, he’s kind of the same way. They just know how to be professional quarterbacks and for me to see that, that was huge.”‘

‘“We’ve already been in negotiations,” Phillips said Monday. “We’ve been keeping it under wraps. The word on the street is the Bills are looking for a new 3-technique, and I think I’m the best candidate. So we’ll see.”’

‘The most impressive aspect of Allen’s performance was the variety of plays that he made, his game-breaking running ability, and his impressively strong arm. He is now getting comfortable reading defensive technique on fade routes and throwing his wide receivers open. He is beginning to consistently read coverage.’

‘“In the context of where we’re trying to go, yes,” McDermott admitted. “I’m not a good loser in terms of 6-10. That keeps me up at night and wakes me up awful early. But where we’re trying to go, and what I’ve been around in this process, once in Philadelphia and once in Carolina, and what it takes to get the organization where we’re trying to go, I feel like there’s been some small wins — albeit not on the scoreboard enough — that has us going in the right direction.”’

‘“It’s all about coming up with something that makes sense and is fair, and it’s hard to do because I’ll be 36 next year,” said Alexander. “If I was 26 or 27, it’s a clear-cut multimillion-dollar deal. But what do you do for a 36-year-old? From their perspective, they’re trying to guard themselves. Is he going to get hurt, when will he slow down? From my perspective I haven’t shown any signs, so there’s a natural collision there where we have opposing views of something. That’s natural anytime you’re negotiating. So we’ll try to find something fair and if we both agree upon it, it’ll happen.”’

‘“Obviously very excited about it,” Anderson said as he and his teammates cleaned out their lockers and bid farewell for the offseason. “Been talking with them over the last few weeks, but the decision is one I’m very happy with. I enjoy it here, my family got to come out, and that was a huge part of it. So, the kids will enjoy a little bit of snow next year.”’

‘Thus my conclusion was that an 8-8 prediction was overly optimistic and 7-9 or 6-10 were more appropriate. And since, at that point, the Bills had traded veteran QB A.J. McCarron to Oakland and were uncertain whether second-year pro Nathan Peterman or Allen would start at quarterback, I opted for the latter.’

‘”I’m glad that he got to play. You never know, you don’t want to force somebody out there. But there’s no replication for playing live bullets,” Beane said. “We saw the difference in evaluating preseason play verses evaluating live bullets, where guys are blitzing and disguising, and all those things. And I think, as I mentioned earlier, you even saw the difference in a lot of how Josh – the things slowed down from Josh’s first stint prior to the injury to when he came back. And he was definitely more comfortable for the most part.”‘

‘“At the start of the year I wasn’t starting,” he said. “I thought I did a pretty good job of (learning as the season progressed). … It’s something I can look back on and say, ‘This is kind of how my rookie year went. It wasn’t great, it wasn’t terrible, but I did enjoy it. I love the game of football.”’

‘Armed with more salary cap space than all but two other teams this offseason, Buffalo has what it takes to make some impact moves in free agency. Here’s a look at each position group on the roster and the decisions the Bills face as the offseason progresses.’

‘”As you look at our young football players, namely Josh Allen, Tremaine Edmunds and the games that they had down the stretch, the game they had yesterday, totally different complexion at those positions than it was a year ago,” McDermott said. “So to me, the direction of this football team is a positive one with a lot of work to be done yet.”‘

‘Anderson completed his 14th season and was signed by Buffalo in mid-October after Allen was sidelined by a sprained right throwing elbow. He went 0-2 as a starter and was sidelined by a concussion in a 25-6 loss to New England.’

‘”He is a part of our plan. It was our entire run game that struggled, not just one person. I think if we can improve in others areas, that will help LeSean. That being said, he will come back in 2019. I’m not a believer that LeSean is done. If he gets back to form, I think he’s still a weapon.”‘

‘The move to extend Derek Anderson’s contract by one season is somewhat surprising, only due to the fact that the Bills seemingly had to coax Anderson out of free agency a month into the season in order to join the organization. However, the move itself, is one that is excellent for the long-term hopes of the organization.’

‘”Judicious is probably the word that I would use instead of aggressive. If you’re not wise with it, you can be back to where it was when I walked in the door here. We definitely want to fill holes in free agency,” said Beane. “I think I’ve said it before – you use free agency to help you so you’re not going to the Draft in April with all these holes, and now you’re drafting for need. I promise you drafting for need is a mistake that can set franchises back, and I’m not going to do that as long as I’m in charge here.”‘

‘”I know where we were a year ago in respect to the record, but where are we now one year later as it relates to this organization, where this team is headed? As you look at our young football players, namely Josh Allen, Tremaine Edmunds and the games that they had down the stretch, the games they had yesterday, [it was a] totally different complexion at those positions than it was a year ago,” added head coach Sean McDermott. “To me, the direction of the football team is a positive one with a lot of work to be done yet. “‘

‘“We know where we need to get stronger. There are a lot of areas where we need to get stronger, and we’ll look to address all those, whether it’s bringing certain players back, paying attention to guys that get cut elsewhere for salary cap reasons prior to free agency. Obviously, free agency and hopefully fill some holes in the draft.”’

‘“They feel like, overall, I would say, and that’s probably a better question for the players, but I feel like there’s an overall optimism about where we are and where we’re headed,” McDermott said. “They understand the vision for this football team and have a better feel, and it’s a young group of guys, so they have a better feel of what it’s going to take to try and get us there.”’

‘“There’s a lot of good conversation in that room,” said Daboll in reference to his quarterbacks. “There are different levels of experience. Matt was the number one recruit in the country, and then he went to a big-time school. D.A.’s been in the league for 14-plus years and played in a variety of teams, a variety of offenses. Both of those guys have a very good understanding of defense, have a good understanding of system. We have really good conversations, whether it’s about protections, maybe some route schemes.”‘

‘“I wish we would still be playing right now, Allen said. “I feel like we just started to find our groove as an offense, and that’s where the excitement for the next several months comes from. I’m just super excited. I’m eager to get back already. It’s been one day, and it’s been too long.”’